Webster's English Dictionary

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poverty

pov.er.ty \'pa:v-*rt-e-\ n [ME poverte, fr. OF poverte`, fr. L paupertat-, 
   paupertas], fr. pauper poor - more at POOR 1a: lack of money or material 
   possessions : WANT  1b: renunciation as a member of a religious order of 
   the right as an indivi dual to own property 2: SCARCITY, DEARTH  3a: 
   debility due to malnutrition  3b: lack of fertility ERTY may cover a range 
   from extreme want of necessities to a falling short of having comfortable 
   means; INDIGENCE implies seriously straitened circumstances; PENURY 
   suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money; WANT and DESTITUTION imply 
   extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure 
   SYN syn INDIGENCE, PENURY, WANT, DESTITUTION: POV